Time lapse recording enables reproduction in less than the actual time period. For example, in reproducing a weather radar picture occurring over an extended period, say twenty-four hours, the recorder is operative to record the radar screen only at spaced time intervals; and, the recordings or takes are successive on the recorder tape for playback in continuous sequence. By way of example, if a videotape recorder was actuated to take or play every five minutes for a period of five seconds then there would be recorded one minute for each hour. Of course, these rates and periods may be selected, as desired.
While there are in the prior art television tape recording apparatus for time-lapse recording, the prior apparatus has been found extremely expensive so that the cost can often not be economically justified, or demanding of considerable manual actuation or operator attention, and unsatisfactory for this reason. Examples of prior art devices capable of time lapse recording are found in the below listed prior U.S. patents, which are not believed of sufficient pertinence to warrant detailed discussion: U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,607 U.S. Pat. No. 3,721,757 U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,832 U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,490 U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,877